Abu Ghraib jailers
An army reservist charged with abusing Iraqis at Abu Ghraib prison said yesterday that he would plead guilty to some offences. Staff Sgt Ivan "Chip" Frederick, 37, of the Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company, said in a statement issued by his lawyer: "I will be pleading guilty to certain charges because I have concluded that what I did was a violation of law." He is charged with maltreating detainees, conspiracy to maltreat detainees, dereliction of duty, and wrongfully committing an indecent act. He is to appear at a pretrial hearing today in Mannheim, Germany. Sgt Frederick, a Virginia state prison guard in civilian life, is one of seven members of the 372nd charged; another, Specialist Jeremy Sivits, pleaded guilty to three abuse charges in May and was sentenced to a year in prison. Sgt Frederick was the senior enlisted soldier at Abu Ghraib between October and December, when the mistreatment allegedly occurred, and among the first identified by CBS when it broke the story in April. A photo shows him standing behind a naked prisoner smeared with faces. He has claimed the abuse was orchestrated by military intelligence officers rather than MPs, according to a diary that his family made available, informs Guardian Unlimited. According to ABCNews, the highest-ranking Army reservist charged with abusing Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib prison said Monday he will plead guilty to some offenses because "what I did was a violation of law." Staff Sgt. Ivan L. "Chip" Frederick II, of the Maryland-based 372nd Military Police Company, said in a written statement e-mailed to The Associated Press by his attorney: "I have accepted responsibility for my actions at Abu Ghraib prison. I will be pleading guilty to certain charges because I have concluded that what I did was a violation of law." The three-paragraph statement did not specify the charges to which Frederick will plead guilty, and it wasn't clear whether he would still contest any of the allegations. He is charged with maltreating detainees, conspiracy to maltreat detainees, dereliction of duty and wrongfully committing an indecent act. Frederick, 37, of Buckingham, Va., has a pretrial hearing scheduled for Tuesday in Mannheim, Germany. His civilian attorney, Gary Myers, did not immediately respond to e-mailed questions about Frederick's case. Telephone calls to Myers' hotel room in Mannheim went unanswered. Frederick, a Virginia state prison guard in civilian life, is among seven members of the Cresaptown, Md.-based 372nd charged in the scandal, which involves physical abuse and sexual humiliation of prisoners. He would be the second of the seven to admit wrongdoing. Spc. Jeremy C. Sivits of Hyndman, Pa., pleaded guilty to three abuse charges in May and was sentenced to a year in prison. Frederick, who worked as a prison guard in Virginia, was the senior enlisted soldier at the Abu Ghraib prison between October and December, when the mistreatment allegedly occurred. He was among the first to be publicly identified by CBS' "60 Minutes II" when it broke the story April 28. On day one of a pre-trial hearing for four US troops in Mannheim, Germany, Judge James Pohl dismissed a motion made by lawyers defending Corporal Charles Graner that hundreds of photos taken from their client’s room by investigators be ruled inadmissible. Graner’s lawyers said the photographs had been taken without his full consent. The judge also refused to have the future court martial for Graner moved from Baghdad to the United States. He responded to claims that it would be impossible for Graner to get a fair trial in Iraq, saying it would be difficult for the Corporal to find a panel of judges anywhere who had not heard of the case. Graner’s face was splashed across the world’s newspapers and tv news broadcasts in April when a photo showing him smiling and with his arms folded behind a pyramid of hooded, naked Iraqi prisoners, was released to the media. Joining Graner in Mannheim are Specialist Megan Ambuhl, Sergeant Javal Davis and Staff Sergeant Ivan Frederick, reports SBS.
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